78018 for Shildon gala

BR Standard ‘2MT’ No. 78018 will be attending the Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon ‘Autumn Steam Gala’ on September 16/17.


Star of Snowdrift at Bleath Gill, BR Standard ‘2MT’ No. 78018, is pictured resting in the yard at Wansford on the Nene Valley Railway on January 11. THOMAS BRIGHT/SR

The Riddles-designed 2-6-0 will be making its first visit to Shildon since it returned to steam at the Great Central Railway in August last year. Visitors to the ‘Autumn Steam Gala’ will have the opportunity to see No. 78018 in light steam in the yard and visit the cab.

In addition to the Standard ‘Mogul’, Furness Railway No. 20 – the oldest operational standard gauge steam locomotive in the UK – will be working passenger trains on the museum’s short demonstration line. Further Shildon locomotive exhibits will also be on outdoor display.

No. 78018 became famous after starring in the 1955 British Transport Film Snowdrift at Bleath Gill, and was withdrawn eleven years later in November 1966 after a working life of only 12 years.

The locomotive was rescued from Barry in 1978 and is now owned by the Darlington Railway Preservation Society. Its restoration was completed by the Loughborough Standard Locomotive Group, who also restored the ‘2MT’s’ classmate No. 78019 – now undergoing its ten-yearly overhaul.

Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon is open from 10am to 5pm daily and admission is free of charge, although there is a charge for train rides.

For further information, visit www.nrm.org.uk/PlanaVisit/VisitShildon/WhatsOn, or call the museum on 01388 777999.

Continue reading...